The World - News from Jan. 8, 1989

A regional commander of the U.S.-backed Contras was shot and killed while driving in the outskirts of the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa, police said. Manuel Adan Rugama Acevedo, 39, also known as Commander Aureliano, apparently was alone in his car when unidentified gunmen opened fire with submachine-guns, riddling his body with at least 26 bullets, police added. No other details were immediately available. Contra leaders immediately blamed Nicaragua’s Sandinista government for the slaying. Rugama was assistant to rebel military chief Enrique Bermudez and a member of the Contra high command.